Otto Meier, Jr., records and papers, 1931 - 1979

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Summary

Creator:
Meier, Otto, 1908-1979
Abstract:
Otto Meier, Jr., (1908-1979), professor emeritus of electrical engineering, taught at Duke University from 1934 to 1975. Meier's specialties were electrical machinery and control, illumination, explosives, nucleonics, and experimental nuclear physics. Meier was active in the Southeastern Electric Exchange; the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (ca. 1933-1963); Delta Epsilon Sigma (ca. 1931-1946); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (ca. 1963-1971); the campus chapter of Tau Beta Pi (ca. 1948-1975); and the Engineers Club (Durham, N.C.). Meier was a consultant engineer with the Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab and helped to plan the facility. The collection contains correspondence, lecture and course notes, photographs, reports, minutes, newsletters, slides, lantern slides, black-and-white negatives, and other materials pertaining to professional organizations, regional utilities, faculty and university affairs, curriculum, and other subjects related to the College of Engineering, engineering student organizations, and the domestic use of nuclear power. English.
Extent:
20.5 Linear Feet
20000 Items
Language:
English.
Collection ID:
UA.29.02.0062
University Archives Record Group:
29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates
29 -- Papers of Faculty, Staff, and Associates > 02 -- Individuals

Background

Scope and content:

The Otto Meier, Jr., Records and Papers is divided into eight major series: Personal and Biographical Files; General Subject Files; Duke University; School of Engineering; Organizations; Papers and Articles; Photos and Slides; and the records of the Tau Beta Pi.

The Personal and Biographical Files Series contains Meier's Ph.D. thesis; texts of his lectures and addresses; materials documenting conferences he attended; and materials used on his trips as a Duke University Admissions Office representative to regional high schools. Also, in this series are very extensive files on the courses Meier taught at Duke. These files include detailed notes, projects, tests, solutions to test questions, and course evaluations.

The General Subject Files mainly contain correspondence, memoranda, and reports that document Meier's committee work at Duke. There is considerable material on the Faculty Club and on ROTC, and a minor amount on early computers at Duke. There are documents (agendas, papers, and programs) that deal with the activities of the Southeastern Electric Exchange, a regional utilities group, whose meetings Meier frequently attended.

The Duke University Series consists mainly of minutes and memoranda of the University Council/Academic Council (1953-1973); the Graduate Faculty and its executive committee; the University Faculty (1953-1973); and the University Faculty Council/Undergraduate Faculty Council of Arts and Sciences (1967-1972). One binder contains minutes, correspondence, reports, and budgets of the Duke University Church and its Board (1953-1956). There are several folders of University memoranda on a variety of topics (1935-1942).

The School of Engineering Series contains the minutes and related papers of the School of Engineering, known as the College of Engineering until 1966. It includes materials from the Engineering Administrative Council (1968-1974), Engineering Faculty (1953-1974), and the Engineering Faculty Council (1947-1974). In some cases the accounts and comments are more detailed than those in the published minutes. This series also has general information on topics such as administrators; articles and papers by Duke University faculty and students; the Board of Visitors; the engineering building, former faculty, and research and development.

The Dept. of Electrical Engineering is an important subseries within the School of Engineering Series. It contains files on curriculum (1953-1954), minutes of the graduate faculty (1963-1964), and "status reports" from the years 1957, 1962, and 1967. This includes compilations of staff rosters, course descriptions, vitae, and available facilities. There is a sizeable collection of folders entitled "Staff," (1953-1954), that contain minutes of the electrical engineering faculty meetings, memoranda, reports, and other papers on general policies.

The Organizations Series contains correspondence, newsletters, minutes of regional conferences for twenty different organizations. The largest collections concern the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (ca. 1933-1963); Delta Epsilon Sigma (ca 1931-1946); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (ca. 1963-1971); and the campus chapter of Tau Beta Pi (ca. 1948-1975). There are also extensive materials from the Durham, N.C., Engineers Club (ca. 1944-1974), in which Meier was an active member. Some organizations are represented by only a few items retained by Meier. There are two folders on Phi Beta Kappa at Duke (1962) and Sigma Xi (ca. 1939-1974).

The Papers and Articles Series includes addresses and papers given by others at various engineering conferences in the 1950-1960s. Of note are the papers from the Southeastern Electric Exchange on technical, electrical, and electronics subjects. Included are speeches by officials of utility companies on nuclear power in its early days.

The Photographs and Slides Series illustrates the life of engineering students in the 1930s; the engineering building (Southgate) and laboratory on East Campus; West Campus; and the construction of the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. There are lantern slides that contain diagrams of nuclear particle processes, schematics for a Van de Graaff accelerator, and photographs of the installation of the 4MeV Van de Graaff in the nuclear facility of the Physics Dept. There are also 3 and 1/2 inch x 5 inch slides for a presentation on "Electric Power Utilities - Trends and Nuclear Outlook."

The slides are fragile. Please consult University Archives staff before use.

The Tau Beta Pi Series contains material from the North Carolina Gamma Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, national engineering honorary, established at Duke University on Jan. 10, 1948. The material contains banquet initiation programs (1949-1970), correspondence, bulletins, and printed material on the history, purpose, constitution, and other aspects of Tau Beta Pi. It includes two large bound volumes, "Book of the Chairman of the Advisory Board," (1948-1950, 1950-1958). There is also a large amount of material on the National Convention of 1960. Access to Boxes 17-18 is RESTRICTED: Student Records.

Biographical / historical:

Born Nov. 7, 1908, in Philadelphia, Pa., Otto Meier, Jr., was educated at the University of Pennsylvania (B.S., 1929; E.E., 1937; Ph.D, 1957) and at the University of Michigan (M.S., 1938). Meier was a technical observer with the Geophysical Research Corporation in N.Y. (1929-1930), and then worked as a private consultant with C.D. Fawcett, E.E., in Philadelphia (1930-1934).

Meier came to Duke University in 1934 as an instructor (1934-1938) in electrical engineering and taught as an assistant professor (1938-1945), associate professor (1945-1957), and professor (1957-1975). Meier's specialties were electrical machinery and control, illumination, explosives, nucleonics, and experimental nuclear physics.

In addition to teaching, Meier filled many administrative posts at Duke University. He was Chairman of the Schedule and Registration Committee of the College of Engineering (1947-1948), President of the Duke Faculty Club (1948-1949), Acting Chairman of the Electrical Engineering Dept. (1950), Director of Undergraduate Studies in Electrical Engineering (1961-1966; 1968-1970), Director of Graduate Studies in Electrical Engineering (1966-1968), Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in Electrical Engineering (1970-1971), Assistant Dean of Engineering (1971-1974), and University Marshal (1971-1974). Meier was also a representative for Duke University's Admissions Office at various high schools in the region.

As a consultant and researcher, Meier worked with the Engineering Corps of the U.S. Army (1941), the Explosives Division of the U.S. Naval Ordnance Lab (1949), and the Oak Ridge National Lab (1950). Beginning in 1950, Meier was an engineering consultant and researcher with the Nuclear Structure Lab at Duke, and consultant engineer with the Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab. Meier played an active role in the planning of the facility during its construction.

Meier belonged to numerous professional engineering and scientific organizations. He was active in the N.C. section of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the Durham Engineers Club, and the Duke chapters of Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi.

Otto Meier was married in 1935 and had three sons.

Acquisition information:
The Otto Meier, Jr., Records and Papers, 1931-1979 was received by the University Archives as a transfer in 1980 (A80-223), 1981 (A81-19), 1984, and 1985 (A85-123).
Processing information:

Processed by Linda Daniel

Completed February, 2004

Encoded by Linda Daniel, February 2004

Materials with metal binders will need to be processed before use. Please consult University Archives staff.

Arrangement:

The General Subject Files are arranged alphabetically.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult University Archives, Duke University.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the office of origin and the University Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the University Archivist.

In accordance with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended, Duke University permits students to inspect their education records and limits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

In off-site storage; 48 hours advance notice is required for use.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Otto Meier, Jr., Records and Papers, 1931-1979, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.